By Jan Penton Miller

There are not many things I enjoy more than perusing around a garage sale. The old adage, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure” certainly rings true for me, and many times I find myself with more treasures than space! Every once in a while it’s time for a purge, and I have been dragging out goodies for a couple of weeks. It feels great to reorganize and get rid of things that I have no space or use for anymore.

A week or so ago I went to a garage sale and found a Christian book. I hadn’t really heard of the author, but it didn’t cost much so I took a chance that I may enjoy the read. When I mentioned the author’s name to my daughter she was surprised that I hadn’t heard of Lysa TerKeurst. After a few days of reading one of her devotional books I am totally a fan of her writing.

Lysa made a statement that resonated with me, and I wanted to share it with you. In one of her prayers she wrote, “Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity…rather than a personal inconvenience.” I have thought about these words and reread them a few times because I think if I could do that it would be a total game changer.

Today I had something that came up which would normally be an annoyance, but I thought of Lysa’s words and changed my attitude. Now I’m actually looking forward to dealing with the situation. I wonder what sort of opportunity might arise? Could I make a new friend? Could I have an opportunity to share the love of Jesus? Who knows, but I know that at least I can have a good attitude instead of being aggravated at an annoyance.

I stopped my writing for a few minutes to take care of something I had been putting off. I’ll be sixty-five in December so I have to sign up for Medicare, and I’m not certain what sort of additional insurance I should have. Well…I’ll tell you my previous statement about looking at things as an opportunity was certainly put to the test. I waited on hold for quite a long while.

Actually the call dropped, and I had to start my wait again.  I finally got someone on the phone, and they couldn’t answer my questions. When I began to feel irritated I remembered Lysa’s words and took a deep breath. I was eventually able to make an appointment to talk to a representative and get more information. 

Now what sort of opportunity was that? I’m not sure, but I was able to maintain a better attitude during the conversation. I did mention the fact that I don’t think I should have to sign up if I would rather keep my private insurance. I may also have mentioned that I am not a fan of big government, but I did it very nicely so that’s a win.

Jan Penton Miller writes a weekly column for The Oxford Eagle.